Please read the facts below:

	3 to 4 million women will beaten this year.
	4,000 to 5,000 women will be murdered by there batterer's this year (11 per day).
	Battering is the single most frequent reason why women seek attention at hospital emergency departments and is the single major cause of injury to women.
	Domestic Violence is the #1 cause of homelessness for women.
	95% of batterer's are men.
	95% of women's violence toward men is in self-defense.
	40% of battering begins in pregnancy.

Should any of these facts be familiar to you or you are experiencing any problems with abuse, this information is here for you to find help.
 
 

ABUSE

	It can be physical.
	It can be emotional.
	It can be sexual.
	Abuse is about one person controlling another.

It's a pattern of behavior . Many women don't think of themselves as being "battered" because they haven't been hit. Think about some of the following questions and see if you may be abused. (You don't have to answer "Yes" to all of them to have been abused.) This list was made up by women who had been abused.
 

	Have you been hit? choked? slapped? pushed? bitten? burned? grabbed?
	Has your partner used a weapon against you? Or threatened to?
	Has your partner used an object to hit you?
	Has your partner threatened to beat or have sex with your children unless you do what he says?
	Has he forced you to have sex?
	Has your partner discouraged you from taking classes? Getting a job?
	Has he threatened you at work?
	Does he keep or take your paycheck against your wishes?
	Does he not let you take the car?
	Does he make it hard for your friends and family to visit you?
	Does he make you tell him where you have been?
	Does he regularly call you names?
	Does he say no one would ever want you if you left him?
	Do you change what you do because you're afraid of his temper?
	Are you afraid if you left him he would kill you? Or himself?
	Has he ever made you commit a crime? Use drugs or alcohol against your will?
	If he hits you , does he act sweet and loving afterward? Say he's sorry? Cry? Buy presents? Want sex?
	Does he act like two different people?

Abusers can be charming and pleasant people when you first meet them. They may continue to be this way in public, while being abusive when you are alone. The following are WARNING signs. There is no sure way to identify a batterer.
 
 

	Is he very jealous?
	Does he want to know where you are every minute?
	Does he drive away your friends and family?
	Does he have extreme high and lows? Is he cruel to animals?
	Has he hit a former partner?
	Does he believe you belong to him?
	Are you afraid of him when he's angry?
	Does he say he can't help losing his temper?
	Did he grow up in a violent family?

If you answered YES to any of these questions and you feel you your abused or you are not sure please call one of the phone numbers above and speak someone these call's are totally confidential. 

  Follow this link to the  Lapeer Area Citizens Against Domestic Assault